


Beneath the Well

by thrillingsentience



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Dead Hand, Gen, Horror, Non-Graphic Violence, aka the creepiest part of oot, horror. just horror., in-game novelization?, the bottom of the well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 06:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19145512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thrillingsentience/pseuds/thrillingsentience
Summary: “There is a legend of a man who could see the truth that lived in this village ages ago. Where the well now rests was where this man’s house stood… and when he died, so did the secrets of his power. There’s believed to be a darkness that lurks beneath the well, and as long as its full of water, it cannot escape…. But alas, the well has finally run dry.”The old man’s face was solemn as he looked towards the well. Link followed his gaze and slightly tilted his head at how normal it looked. He had been in and out of this town a few times, and every time the well had never struck him as something riddled with so much mystery.“I don’t believe it one bit,” said the other man.Link wanted to ask why, but his inquiry was cut clean away when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the otherwise silent night.An attempt at novelizing the bottom of the well part in Ocarina of Time.





	Beneath the Well

**Author's Note:**

> I've been replaying OoT recently and gosh, the well part honestly still freaks me out to this day. I got inspired to try and write out my depiction of that infamous mini-dungeon. I hope I did it justice, and I hope y'all enjoy!

Link was ready to get out of Death Mountain—maybe spend a night in the village—and then head his way towards his third and final destination, Zora’s Domain. After just barely escaping Dodongo’s Cavern, and rightfully swearing himself a Brother to the Gorons that he had saved, Link gathered the Spiritual Stone of Fire. It was a taxing trial, if he could even it call it one, but a sense of accomplishment had carried him out of the Goron City and towards the quaint Kakariko Village.  
  
The hard pumice beneath Link’s boots was the only guide the child had down the narrow, steep pathway that lead out of the unstable terrain of Death Mountain and towards Kakariko Village. The sun had just started to set, and in the dying embers of twilight the towering cliff sides that flanked either side of the pathway seemed much steeper and more dangerous than they had prior to Link’s first trip up the mountain in broad daylight. The dim glow of Navi up ahead did little to light up the small dusty alcoves and retreating shadows that crept along the steep canyon walls.  
  
On the horizon just ahead of Link a few storm clouds had gathered, which blotted out any remaining light from the late sun. Distant thunder rolled by in a steady baritone and the wind carried the smell of rain. Taking his gaze away from the approaching storm, Link picked up his pace from a leisurely stroll to a focused march. He’d rather not be caught in the rain if he didn’t have to be—Navi had thought the same, for she had flown closer to the boy before disappearing underneath his hat altogether.  
  
Kakariko Village was the same has Link had left it the few days he had been up on Death Mountain. Crossing the threshold into the village, Link set out to gather up some supplies for his next trip. Even though the sun had already dipped below the horizon, the people within the village still carried on with their tasks. The early moon didn’t hinder anyone’s work—they just hung lanterns and torches—and prevailed.  
  
Link took a deep breath through his nostrils—the smell of rain was more prevalent now that that the storm clouds had drawn closer—and exhaled at a slow rate while his eyes glanced around the main bustling part of town. Well, bustling was a modest way of putting it—Kakariko wasn’t the most populated village, it was located in the valley beneath a monstrous volcano and that information alone was enough to make anyone wary of moving in. So, to say Kakariko was bustling meant that there was a small group of three standing along the side of a building indulged in idle chatter.  
  
Torchlight replaced the sunlight, and the flames sent dancing shadows along the dusty floor and cobblestone walls. Link wandered close enough to the group that he picked up their conversation.  
  
“It happened again,” the first person, a young woman with fire red hair, said.  
  
A burly man with his arms crossed that stood across from the lady let out a snort and shook his head. “It’s nothing—I wouldn’t be worried. Don’t believe everything your brother says.”  
  
The torch fire from the sconce on the wall danced dangerously close to the man as a gust of wind swept through the village and disturbed the flame. Link had to place a protective hand on his hat to prevent it from getting blown away until the wind receded. The woman gasped slightly—obviously shaken up by whatever had previously happened to her—and she casted a wary glance over her shoulder at the water well, which surprisingly ran dry.  
  
“I’m not making this up! It was.. It was like a…” the lady’s face grew pale as she recalled the horror she had witnessed. Her eyes clenched tight and she shook her head briefly to dispel the unnerving memory. “...I don’t even know how to begin to describe it.”  
  
“Was it a hand?” The third person finally spoke. He was an older gentleman with a head full of greying hair, and tired eyes.  
  
The first man scoffed and rolled his eyes, but the lady nodded.  
  
“Yes! Like the dead was crawling out from beneath the ground…”  
  
That statement instantly made Link curious. Was there something happening to the village?  
  
“Have you seen anything like that? You’ve seemed to have taken quite an interest in our conversation, young one” the old man said with a tone that humored lightheartedness.  
  
All the eyes now faced Link and he froze where he stood. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, he was just naturally curious at heart—and running off an adventure high that he was certain would dissipate soon. He needed something to fulfil his spark to explore while he still had the energy to do so, and the tales spun by the three people in torchlight were just the right place to start looking.  
  
“Sorry,” Link muttered as he approached the group on tentative legs.  
  
“It’s all right, my boy,” the old man waved away Link’s worries. “I hope what you heard didn’t scare you too much.”  
  
Link shook his head—his eyes were locked on the old man, but soon bounced towards the lady and the other man. “I’m more curious than anything,” he admitted, hoping he didn’t sound too eager.  
  
“Ah yes, the curiosity of a child,” the old man chuckled. “Have you heard of the tale of the well?”  
  
Before Link could respond, the woman’s face paled again and her hands clutched at the skirt of her dress. “I should really head home now,” she said in a rush before she parted from the group—but her eyes didn’t cast a farewell to the others, they were instead locked on the well that stood vigil towards the back of town.  
  
“Bah! Don’t mind her,” the other man said. His eyes were narrowed as he watched the lady leave. “My daughter can sometimes get lost in her head, believing stories.”  
  
“I haven’t heard it, no,” Link finally replied, intentionally ignoring what the other man had said. In the passed few weeks, Link had learned that even the most absurd stories can turn out to be true, so it didn’t hurt to just listen when someone spoke.  
  
“There is a legend of a man who could see the truth that lived in this village ages ago. Where the well now rests was where this man’s house stood… and when he died, so did the secrets of his power. There’s believed to be a darkness that lurks beneath the well, and as long as its full of water, it cannot escape…. But alas, the well has finally run dry.”  
  
The old man’s face was solemn as he looked towards the well. Link followed his gaze and slightly tilted his head at how normal it looked. He had been in and out of this town a few times, and every time the well had never struck him as something riddled with so much mystery.  
  
“I don’t believe it one bit,” said the other man.  
  
Link wanted to ask why, but his inquiry was cut clean away when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the otherwise silent night.  
  
Link’s attention snapped towards where the scream had come from—it sounded feminine, could it have been the lady?—and without a second thought, began to run in that direction. He was nearly bowled over when the man rushed passed him in a frantic, but motivated, sprint. Link picked up his pace and followed at the heels of the man. The old man lagged behind the more active duo, obviously due to his age, but he didn’t let that stop him from finding out the source of the panicked scream—even though he already had his growing suspicions.  
  
Link finally arrived at the scene, the man had reached the house before him and instantly rushed inside, but Link staggered a little to gather his surroundings. On the side of the house was a small enclosed pen that held a few spooked cuccos. White feathers wafted through the air and the animals made frightened clucks at whatever had scared them prior.  
  
Navi, having heard the scream was now at Link’s side—and when another yell, this time one deeper, more masculine, echoed inside the house—the two exchanged a worried glance before Link, with his sword drawn, barged through the door.  
  
The first thing Link noticed when he entered the house was the man and lady from earlier holding onto each other in an act of true fear. Upon further inspection, and honestly it should have been the first thing Link saw, the man was struggling against something that had hold of his leg. A pale, sickly looking arm sprouted from the baseboards of the house and its bony fingers wrapped dangerously around the man’s ankle. The rotting, dirty nails of the hand dug into the man’s skin, drawing a few drops of blood and nothing more—it looked like the creature was trying to drag the man into the floor...  
  
“You’ve got to save him!” Navi cried from beside Link.  
  
Acting on instinct, and partially from Navi’s desperation, Link lunged forward and sliced at the grotesque arm. The moment blade hit skin, the hand let go of its vice grip on the man’s leg. The man quickly scurried backwards away from the protrusion in the floor, and the lady fell into him in a fearful embrace. The hand turned its attention towards Link now that its previous prey had broken free. The deep gash along the forearm oozed a sickly, dark green liquid that dripped more like slime than blood. Slightly stunned by the horrific sight, Link just stared at the arm as it lunged for him—but a last-minute warning from Navi cause him to dodge the attack by a hair.  
  
Link rolled to the side and the clawed hand swiped at the spot he had been. The hand left an imprint on the wooden floor as it dragged its sharp nails against the grain. Link raised his sword and swiped at the arm again, causing another cut onto its pale skin. The fingers on the hand constricted from the attack, and the arm grew deathly still, as if it were calculating what to do next. Link’s fist tightened on the handle of his sword—but the creature ultimately sunk back into the rupture it caused in the floorboards and disappeared into the depths of the earth once more.  
  
“What was that?” Navi said once the fray of battle ended. Her gaze lingered on the hole where the arm had sunk into.  
  
Link didn’t have any words to describe what he just beared witness to—he just fought an arm.  
  
“What happened? Is everyone alright?” The old man had finally reached the house. His voice hinted at him being winded from the journey, but he hid it well with a concerned expression that swept across each person in the room.  
  
“Yea–Yeah,” the lady’s voice was soft as she slowly nodded. Her eyes remained wide, but didn’t leave their spot on the protruding hole in the floorboards.  
  
“It was another hand, wasn’t it?” The old man asked, and the silence of the room confirmed his suspicion. “These attacks are slowly getting more frequent…”  
  
“There was another attack?” asked Navi, she now hovered in front of the old man.  
  
His eyes cast downward and he nodded sullenly. “Yes. A day ago, a man got attacked near the well by one of these hands… But it was late at night, no one believed him when the sun rose.”  
  
Navi drifted back towards Link, the boy was watching the hole in the floor as the old man as recounted the last attack. Link’s eyebrows were knit together first in concern, but ultimately in determination.  
  
“Boy,” the old man said, which cause Link to pull his attention from the ground and towards the man. “You fought that hand, am I right?” The old man’s gaze briefly landed on Link’s unsheathed sword, which had a splattering of green residue from the arm’s blood.  
  
Link nodded, albeit a little slowly. He could already tell where this conversation was going.  
  
“I know I may be asking too much of you, but… If you were courageous enough to ward away that creature, please use that valor to help the people of Kakariko.”  
  
At the old man’s plea, Link glanced around at the people in the house. The lady and the other man were still huddled together. The man had a hand pressed against the wound on his leg, and the lady just stared worriedly at him as she clutched to his shoulders. Link’s lips downturned in a slight frown—if this was the second attack… Could there be more? How many unknown attacks does there have to be before people start disappearing?  
  
Kakariko Village, oddly enough, was held rather closely to Link’s heart after the few times he’s visited. It was the first town to actually treat him with reasonable hospitality—Castle Town was just a constant busy nightmare where a child like himself would end up lost in the crowd of taller adults. This tiny village welcomed him in—its small numbers weren’t as intimidating for the boy from the forest with a limited population. He couldn’t let anything happen to the village that was slowly starting to feel like a second home.  
  
Link turned back to the old man, who was looking expectantly at Link. His wrinkled eyes showed nights of worry and pain—and when they met Link’s steely blue eyes that were filled with invigorated determination—the man’s moustached lip curled into a thankful smile.  
  
“Come on, Navi,” Link said to his fairy companion, and she fluttered behind Link in a trail of light as the duo departed from the house.  
  
Link didn’t know when it started to rain, but the water droplets fell at a slow pace—a mere sprinkle—but Link knew that the brunt of the storm has yet to come.  
  
The well stood imposingly at the back of the town. Wind sang from off its gaping surface and a scatter of leaves from a nearby tree scraped along its stone walls. Link leaned against the cobblestone and peered into the seeming dark abyss that was the mouth of the well. A dinky little ladder hung off the edge of the wall and descended into the inky blackness.The rungs were old and rickety, and Link vowed to not look down as he slowly carried himself deeper into the well. Navi’s light was bright enough to barely light the enclosed cobblestone shaft that encased Link. Her blue glow was that of a dying camp fire’s embers—bright enough to not trip on anything, but not enough to fully see things around you, like you would with a torch.  
  
Link’s boots splashed in the shallow pool of water than remained stagnant at the bottom of the well once he dropped down from the last few rungs. Droplets of rain from up above further disturbed the once still puddle, and Link looked up from where he stood to get a glimpse of the cloudy night sky above him. Raindrops fell onto his face as he stared up—he relished in the sensation for a short moment, not too sure if this would be the last time he’d see the sky again.  
  
His head snapped to the side and he pushed those thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time to get lost in what ifs or if thens. He had a job to do—a task to complete.  
  
Through Navi’s light, Link could spot an entrance to a tunnel in the wall adjacent to the ladder, and he began to work his way down the long corridor. The water started to get deeper the further he walked down the tunnel, until it reached the tops of his knees. His stroll turned into trudging through murky water that turned blacker and more opaque with every footstep that stirred the muddy floor. The ground dipped abruptly, which caused the water level to now reach Link’s chest—as well as cause the young hero to trip on his own boots and take a dunk in the dank water.  
  
“Link!” Navi called out to him once his head slipped under the surface. She frantically hovered close to the top of the water to try and spot even a wink of her companion in the murky depth.  
  
The water a foot away from Navi parted and Link’s head broke the surface with a resounding gasp of air. He spluttered a mouthful of water from his mouth and wiped away his blond bangs that were plastered to his forehead. A disgusted frown formed on Link’s face as he stood in chest-deep water, soaked to the bone and completely waterlogged.  
  
“Are you okay?” Navi asked, obviously worried for the boy.  
  
“I didn’t expect the ground to dip like that. I can barely see in this water!”  
  
“I know, but we have to keep moving forward,” the fairy tried to motivate, and Link just nodded.  
  
The tunnel stretched on further and further—it seemed endless—and a part of Link assumed it had to be endless. It felt like he had been wading through the water for hours and getting nowhere. The water was now at a steady height at his chest, and at a steady color of dirt brown. Navi’s blue light dance on the ripples in the water cause by Link’s movement, but it did little to penetrate the murkiness. Link didn’t know how much longer he could handle this.  
  
Then, the pathway ended in a cobblestone wall, and Link fell beneath the water again as he walked off a hidden drop-off. Beneath the water, instead of it being still and stagnant like before, there was a fast current that pulled him forward. Link tried his best to swim against it, but the water proved to be too strong and swept the boy away.  
  
The muddy water stung his eyes when he tried to open them underwater, but even if he did keep them open, it wouldn’t do much. The water was too opaque to see through it. Link pushed himself up through the water in an attempt to break the surface, but his head slammed against solid rock that wasn’t previously above him. His eyes shot open, and ignoring the pain, he stared at the roof that prevented him from taking a well-needed breath of hair. The current dragged him through the depths, and his hands slid across the rock above him in a desperate attempt to get out of his watery grave.  
  
This seemed like the end—his lungs burned with the desire to breathe, but he knew that if he attempted to take a breath, instead of rich oxygen, his lungs would fill up with the rancid liquid. Bubbles formed around his nose has he let go of the remaining oxygen inside him, and they dissipated mockingly against the stone barrier at his head.  
  
The tunnel ended up not being as merciless as Link had expected, and the stone roof gave away to let his head finally break the surface of the water. The current pulled him to a stone ledge at he clung to and swallowed deep, sweet breaths between shuddering coughs. Link pulled himself on the ledge, which stretched out down another corridor, albeit this one was much shorter than the last—and much drier.  
  
Through a metal grate on the floor in front of him, Link could barely see the rushing water below as it churned with a seemingly relentless malice. The tunnel was dark—barely see your hand in front of you, dark. Having been used to Navi’s glow, the darkness took Link by surprise and he glanced around for the little fairy. Had she been swept away by the current, too?  
  
“Navi! Navi, can you hear me?” Link called out towards the direction he had come from. His voice echoed through the empty corridor and echoed back at him mockingly when no reply from the fairy came. His eyes fell to the water and Link dropped to his knees to lean over the stone ledge.  
  
“Please… please…” he muttered as he plunged his hands into the flowing water. If Navi had flown in after him, she couldn’t be too far behind… More pleads spilled from his mouth as he held his hands in the water that kept rushing passed with no sign of the little fairy.  
  
Grief struck Link the longer his hands came up empty—this couldn’t be… Navi couldn’t be…  
  
Something small knocked into the palm of his hands, and Link almost didn’t register it at first, but eventually his eyes widened and he quickly retracted his hands from the rancid water. Laying in his palm was the small blue fairy—but her eyes were closed and her light was dim. She didn’t look too good…  
  
“Come on, Navi…” Link pleaded and held the fairy close. He didn’t know what to do—he didn’t want to lose her, not like this. Not ever.  
  
There was a shudder, and then a cough, and Link peeled open his tearfilled eyes to witness Navi picked herself up  and glance around. Her light slowly began to brighten until it was at its normal level, and Link couldn’t help to smile.  
  
“Link! I’m glad you’re okay!” the fairy’s voice was filled with relief.  
  
“I’m glad you’re okay!” he responded and wiped the tears from his face.  
  
The two were soaked to the bone and just clung to each other for a solid moment as they relished in the fact that they had both survived.  
  
After waiting for his clothes to get relatively dry—or at least not be dripping wet anymore—Link looked down the relatively short corridor and his expression firmed as he remembered the reason why they came down here in the first place. The sound of his boots on the stone floor, and occasionally on the metal grates, was a rhythmic sound against the din of the rushing water below his feet. He and Navi reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up to a large room. On the opposite end of the room was a rotting wooden door that looked like it was one use away from falling apart completely.  
  
Link glanced around the large room, knowing how an empty room can often be deceiving. When nothing seemed out of the ordinary, or nothing popped out at him, Link took the first few tentative steps towards the far door. Unlike the stone tunnel, the floor of the room was a mix of wet mud and mulch. The stench that wafted through the room was nearly unbearable, and Link brought a hand to his nose to try and stifle the insulting air. He moved forward at a steady pace, and Navi floated close by—the two were still a little shaken up by their near-drowning experience, and didn’t feel comfortable being more than a foot away from each other.  
  
Link was halfway across the room was a shuffling from behind him ripped his gaze from the approaching door to the area behind him. The shuffling continued, it sounded like if something was disturbing the mulch that occupied most of the ground. Link, who was now facing away from the wooden door, took a few cautious steps backwards. His eyes didn’t leave the spot where he heard the shuffling, and his hand was already resting against the trusty hilt of his blade. The shuffling continued, but it sounded like it was all around him this time instead of one concentrated spot.  
  
With his backwards pace, the heel of his boot contacted with something on the floor, but instead of sending the object flying, it remained put. Link whirled around to catch a glimpse at whatever he had run into—and what he had assumed to be an object had taken hold of his ankle and pulled back abruptly, causing Link to crash to the floor on his tailbone.  
  
A pale hand was latched onto his foot, and if it weren’t for the thick leather of his boot, the sharp nails would have punctured his skin just like it had done with the man in the village. The hand that held onto his leg was also connected to a grotesque, thin arm that protruded from the decaying mulch. Link kicked away with his free foot at the fingers that were wrapped around his ankle. The hand dropped his leg and the arm slid across the ground as it retracted back into the dirt.  
  
Link’s sword was now drawn as he glanced around the room for wherever the next point the arm would appear at. Navi fluttered in a tight circle around his head, her eyes were too scanning the area for any sign of the pale arm. The shuffling started up again, all around the duo as it had before. Link’s grip tightened on his hilt as he waited for a hand to sprout from the ground, but what he hadn’t accounted for was there to be more than one.  
  
In a sickening display, several identical arms rose from the ground around Link, trapping him in a spaced out circle of limbs. The mud painted their pale skin in a stark contrast, and accentuated the pulsing, protruding veins that ran up and down the length of the arms. Link stood in growing fear as the arms surrounded him, ramrod straight and disturbingly unmoving. Link took a step back, thinking that maybe he would be able to sneak out of the circle while the arms were stationary, and come up with a plan of attack in the room beyond the wooden door. But the moment he got too close to one of the frozen arms, it snapped into action and lunged towards the young hero.  
  
“Watch out!” Navi cried. She, too, was caught off guard by the arm’s sudden movement, so her warning came a little too late to be useful.  
  
The hand found purchase on the back-collar of Link’s tunic and plucked him off the ground and into the air. Link struggled in the grasp of the arm, but with the tight hold it had on him, and the way it was holding him, Link had to reach up with his free hand to take a hold of his neck so the collar of his tunic wouldn’t asphyxiate him. With the hand that held the sword, Link tried to reach behind him and slice at the arm, but when the blade never hit its target, Link had to reluctantly give up in worry he’d accidently slice himself in his blind chopping.  
  
Navi flew in frantic circles as she watched Link struggle, but she couldn’t fly too close to him, for the other arms that protruded from the ground would swipe at her every time she got close.  
  
More of the same shuffling began, but this time it was louder, more focused. The ground began to shift and shake at the shuffling continued, until something began to rise from the mulch. First, it didn’t look like anything—Link expected it to be another hand—but through his struggling and trying to decipher what was sprouting from the ground, he could tell it was much bigger than the arms.  
  
The creature that broke through the floor was grotesque, hideous—bone shaking. The upper half of its body was one mass of repulsive, rippling pale flesh. Two thin arms curved from its body and, instead of hands, ended in two massive claws, one for each arm. Through the darkness, it shuffled towards Link, who struggled even more at the haunting sight of whatever that was coming towards him. The creature’s head came into sight, it was puny and bony compared to the fatness of its body, and the skull was vaguely human-shaped—the only horrifying difference was its perpetual snarl of large, boxy teeth. The lower half of the creature was descended into the ground, which gave Link a bone chilling pause.  
  
The arms and the creature were connected. The arms that surrounded him were attached to this monstrosity that grew closer and closer to Link as the seconds ticked by. With a shaky hand, Link pointed his sword at the creature and he tried hard not to look into its hollow, dark eyes. The arm that had latched itself onto the back of his collar tightened its grip, and Link found his fingers that once tried to prevent his own tunic from choking him, were now pinned against his neck by the fabric.  
  
The creature was now directly in front of him, and Link tried his hardest to look away when its jaws unhinged far beyond any physical limit, and made to bite off his head. Link could feel the creature’s hot breath against his face, and the fear that he once tried to push away came at full force—if he were standing, his knees would have buckled. He let out a choked cry, but was halted when a blur of blue crashed into the eye of the creature, causing it to tumble slightly from the abrupt assault.    
  
The hand on his shift loosened enough to where Link could suck in a breath, and he ripped himself free from the horror’s grasp. Navi had found a way to help him, even if it was a last ditch effort, it had managed to work. The little fairy buzzed around the creature, which had regained its composure fairly quickly—but Link was quicker.  
  
With a rush forward, and his sword at the ready, he kicked off the ground and raised the sword above his head with both hands, before plunging the length of the blade through the creature’s skull. His battle cry reverberated through the hollow room until it grew eerily silent again, save for the distant trickling of water.  
  
The creature slumped forward, taking Link with it, and hit the ground with a dull thud. The arms around the room slumped over all at the same time, leaving twig lines of pale flesh along the mulch covered floor. Link scooted as far back as he could from the creature once he had killed it and took deep breaths to try and calm himself down. His back hit something solid, and he quickly turned to face whatever it was, only to find out it was just the old wooden door.  
  
Not wanting to look at the decaying creature any longer, Link got up and exited through the wooden door, making sure to hold it open just long enough for Navi to fly through.  
  
The door slammed shut with a thud, causing nearly a decade’s worth of dust to shower onto the young hero slumped against it.  
  
“...Thanks, for saving me back there,” Link’s voice was tiny as he spoke—he hated how puny he sounded then.  
  
“I’ve got your back,” Navi reassured, and then floated down in front of him. “But we did it! We helped the town!”  
  
“Yeah, we did, didn’t we?”  
  
Link pushed himself off the ground after a moment of catching his breath and recollecting his nerves, and with a fleeting glance behind him at the wooden door—and what lay beyond—Link made his way further and further from the corpse that lay within the large room.  
  
Where he and Navi had ended up now was the complete opposite to the room, and the tunnels, they had previously traversed. This area was all lined with stone bricks, and dusty wooden rafters supported the roof of the curious room. There were a few crates that lined the side wall, and when Link ran his hands over one, a residue of collected dust rubbed off on his fingertips.  
  
“What is this place?” He asked, as if he expected Navi to have an answer.  
  
The fairy remained silent, but she had floated over to a far corner of the room—and curiously, Link padded over to join her.  
  
“Do you think this might have been what was left of the house in that legend that old man told us?” Navi said, and floated closer to the corner where a layer of cobwebs had formed. There was a faded purple pouch nestled between layers of cobweb and dead leaves—and on the front of the pouch was a crackling insignia of an opened eye.  
  
Link reached forward and plucked the pouch from its bed and held it up to Navi to get a better view of it in the dim light. The purple was a little more vibrant now that he could see it better, and the opening of the pouch was pinched shut by a braided, golden rope. Link began to untie the rope, which fell away to the floor, and he reached into the velvet to pull out an odd-looking object.  
  
It was a purple looking-glass with a short handle, the glass was dyed a deep red, and etched in the middle was the same eye symbol on the pouch.  
  
“Careful, we don’t know what it is,” Navi warned, and Link nodded.  
  
She was right—it was a mysterious object found within a dank, creepy catacomb at the bottom of a well. It was probably cursed—or haunted, or something worse than those two combined. Though, pushing assumed danger aside, Link slid the looking-glass back into the pouch and tied it to his belt with the golden rope he fetched from the floor.  
  
“You’re keeping it?” asked Navi in an incredulous tone.  
  
Link just shrugged. “It might come in handy, who knows?”  
  
Navi just sighed, “Alright—let’s just try to find a way out of here.”  
  
“Right.”  
  
Link began to wander deeper into the room, while Navi flew on up ahead to try and spot any sort of stairway or corridor they could take—there was no way they were going back through the way they came in, the water made sure of it. 

“Hey! Over here!”  
  
Link turned his attention from an oddly shaped crack in the wall to the fairy, who was hovering near a dilapidated doorway. He carefully made his way over to her, making sure not to trip or stumble over the miscellaneous items that littered the bizarre room.  
  
“There’s a ladder in here!”  
  
That peeked Link’s interest, and he entered the room with Navi to, indeed, see a metal ladder that lead up and up until he couldn’t see anymore due to the prevalent darkness. With determination to get out of this eerie well, Link began the long climb up the tall ladder.  
  
After several long minutes of climbing, he reached a trapdoor up top, and with the help of Navi’s light, was able to locate the handle and pry the door open. It fell away with a thud on a wooden floor, and Link pulled himself out of the hole and onto solid ground. He looked around at the room he had just entered—it was strangely familiar—but in the darkness of night, he couldn’t spot any distinguishable features that would job his memory. Heavy rain pattered on the roof of the building, which was a relieving sound. That meant they weren’t underground anymore. Navi spotted a door a little ways to their left, and the duo finally made their way outside.  
  
“Where are we?” Navi turned around to face the door they had just exited through, and her confusion sparked even more. “The windmill? The well is connected to the windmill?”  
  
Link didn’t hear her—or he did and just didn’t acknowledge her. His focus was more set on the freeing feeling of finally being outside again. Even though the rain was pouring down in sheets, but Link just stood there with a goofy smile on his face and his arms spread apart. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed the surface, not until almost dying in a deep hole underground. Navi soon grabbed his attention, and without a word, the two began to burst into laughter. Tears streaked down Link’s face as he laughed alongside his fairy companion, but he didn’t care—they had made it out alive!

* * *

  
The following day, after getting somewhat cleaned up, Link and Navi set out to find that old man from the previous night.  
  
“Thank you, Link—you have helped Kakariko immensely,” the old man told Link with immense gratitude, “The creature can’t harm us anymore, all because of you.”  
  
There was a cough, and the old man looked up at Navi.  
  
“Oh, right. Pardon me—all because of both of you.”  
  
Link smiled, and Navi looked more content after getting acknowledged for her hardships for once.  
  
“I can tell you’re awfully busy, young man—but if there’s ever a time you need any help, don’t forget you’re always welcome here.”  
  
Link thanked the old man, who saw the duo off as they departed from the recently saved Kakariko Village. Even though Link did want to stay for another day, Navi had advised against it—they still needed to make their way to Zora’s Domain to collect the final Spiritual Stone. There wasn’t any time to waste, not when they were so close to finishing their journey.  
  
Link gave a final glance back at the village—at the well—before it disappeared around a corner. A small chill ran up the length of his spine, but he pushed the feeling aside, hoping Navi hadn’t seen his brief expression of uneasiness. Even though he had tried to brush off the encounter with that haunting creature, Link knew that, for the rest of his life, he would never return to the bottom of the well. Whether if the creature was slain or not—he didn’t want to face those jaws in combat a second time—one was already plenty enough for him, thanks.  
  
The vastness of Hyrule Field soon greeted him, and as he descended the final step, Navi guided his towards their final location.  
  
Zora’s Domain was in the ever growing distance.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that this story takes this scene out of chronological order in which it appears in game.... but like, I couldn't really find a way to incorporate it like how it appears in the game into my writing in a way I liked - it sorta just ended up being too long or just too weird? I dunno, So hopefully how I ended up doing it still makes sense! Link'll just have the lens of truth earlier if this was the game, I guess lol.


End file.
